Klarinet Archive - Posting 000119.txt from 1998/05

From: "John J. O'Neill" <avodah@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet Specific?
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 17:12:56 -0400

At 08:06 AM 5/4/98 -0500, you wrote:
>On Mon, 4 May 1998, John J. O'Neill wrote:
>
>> David
>> Blumberg's post evoked this memory, which, incidentally, is really true.
>
>Are you trying to tell us that you are the man who was approached
>by the police officers for suspicion of a suicide attempt while
>sitting in your car?
>
>Neil

No, Neil, I am not the 'suicidal' clarinetist. My last sentence left a
loophole, and you zeroed right in on it! And rightly so! The closest I
have come to 'death by clarinet' was when I was in high school. I was
practicing the Mozart Concerto in the kitchen of my rowhouse, when the
doorbell rang. It was the next-door neighbor, and she said to me : "Please
play that thing a little lower; someone is dying here." I apologized,
closed the door, and quietly put away the offending instrument, which, by
the way, was a Pedler (hard rubber) clarinet. And it had a shiny
mouthpiece that never showed any saliva buildup -- but that's another
story! Anyhow, from that time on, I have often felt that someone was going
to die when I played that Concerto. I handled this by playing with my eyes
closed and never looking at the audience. Oh yes, the person next door
really did die soon after. I have to go now and check the obits for
deceased concertgoers!

J. O'Neill

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